The December issue of IRONMAN magazine has just come out and it features a terrific story and photos on one of the most popular competitors on the professional strongman circuit: Magnus Samuelsson.


With the size and strength of his arms, when Magnus Samuelsson digs in on the truck pull, it's as if he has 4-leg drive, which might be why he won this event in the 2004 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

The 1998 World's Strongest Man winner's presence goes beyond even his standout performances in major competitions, and his two-meter tall frame includes what are widely referred to as the World's Strongest Arms, not to mention grip strength in the power tool class (this is one guy who definitely is not intimidated by the No. 4 Captains of Crush gripper).

If you're a strongman fan, just want to get stronger, or if grip strength is your thing, get the December issue of IRONMAN magazine.

The venerable World Wristwrestling Championships which were held in Petaluma, California for decades have found a happy new home in Boomtown, Nevada, and last night's pro matches were packed with talent and action.


Devin Bair (left) and Vern Martel (right) have at it at the World Wristwrestling Championships, now held in the Boomtown Casino, outside Reno, Nevada. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Here are the righthand men's pro winners:

154 pounds: Vern Martel
176 pounds: Mike McGraw
198 pounds: James Smith
242 pounds: Ron Bath
243+ pounds: Ron Bath

Winners in the lefthand men's pro were:

154 pounds: Devin Bair
176 pounds: Devin Bair
198 pounds: Bryan Johnson
242 pounds: Michael Todd
243+ pounds: Eric Woelfel

For the ladies righthand pro, the winners were:

143 pounds: Tamara Mitts
144+ pounds: Rene Mahoney

"It's not about numbers," Tommy Kono told IronMind, as he rued the fact that the USA is not competitive in the upper echelons of the international weightlifting world.


Tommy Kono - who won gold medals in weightlifting at the 1952 and the 1956 Olympic Games, and a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics - says it's all about setting higher goals and then achieving them. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Kono, whose own career includes world records as well as Olympic and World Championship medals, said that the US program emphasizes boosting the base of weightlifters, while he would prefer to see a primary emphasis on quality. "That's never going to improve anything," Kono said, "because the goal isn't lofty."

Instead, Kono would prefer to see a focus on identifying and developing American weightlifters who can break into the top international ranks. Kono said, "We need someone who really wants to be a weightlifter and who really wants to break world records."

Kono, whose iron game accomplishments are staggering, might be seen as something of a grandmaster of the physical realm as he taunted gravity and also built a championship physique, but if you ask him where the road to greatness begins, he will quickly tell you: "You have to believe."

The MET-Rx World's Strongest Man Super Series Grand Prix didn't just kick off the race to the 2005 WSM title: It showcased Mariusz Pudzianowski, and was also a coming out party for Jesse Marunde.


Looking serious, Jesse Marunde might be thinking, "If I win the next event . . . ." Regardless, after making a huge splash at the contest in Venice, California, Marunde went on to cap off his great year with a second-place finish at the MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest. Tune in tonight if you want to see how it all began. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Marius Pudzianowski is sometimes described in otherworldly terms, and anyone looking for something exceptional was not disappointed by his performance at Muscle Beach, but Mariusz wasn't the only guy getting a lot of attention: Jesse Marunde caught a lot of eyes and from his second-place finish at the Muscle Beach contest, it was a straight line to his dazzling second-place finish in the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest.

Airing tonight at 8:00 pm Eastern time on ESPN2, the coverage of the MET-Rx Grand Prix from Venice, California has an added bonus, with vignettes on Frank Zane, as well as the history of Muscle Beach, and if you want to see footage of Odd Haugen winning the 1968 Mr. Norway title, rumor has it that it's in the show, too.

Coverage of the Nautilus Grand Prix follows on ESPN2 at 9:00 pm Eastern time. Please confirm all times with your service provider, as they may vary.

The 2005 World's Strongest Man Super Series premiers tonight on ESPN2, so here's your chance to see the beginning of the strongman tour that culminated in the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest.


Fuse lit, Mariusz Pudzianowski motors through the farmer's walk at the MET-Rx WSM Super Series Grand Prix at Muscle Beach. Mariusz won the contest and went on to win the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest as well. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

At 8:00 pm Eastern time, you can see the MET-Rx Grand Prix from Muscle Beach (Venice, California), and at 9:00 pm Eastern time, you can see the Nautilus Grand Prix from Malbork, Poland. Please check with your local service provider to confirm the times for your area.

This was the first year of the World's Strongest Man Super Series, and it was extremely popular with the competitors and the fans alike.

The IFSA World's Strongest Nation contest concluded today with Lithuania winning handily over Ukraine, to claim the US$12,000 first place prize. In the battle for third place, the USA won over Russia, with the USA team winning four of the first five events today.

Going into their fourth day of competition today, the finalists had to face seven events, but they were strongly supported by a crowd of over 3,000 spectators cheering them on. IFSA-USA president Dione Wessels said the contest "was more than awesome," and she had high praise for the performance of the American team of Jon Andersen, Van Hatfield, Josh Thigpen and Travis Ortmayer.

The New York Arm Wrestling Association is hosting the final event of the White Castle New York Golden Arm Series on November 17 in the Port Authority Bus Terminal, located in the Times Square area of New York City. For full details, please check their official website: http://www.nycarms.com/

With the preliminaries concluded today, host country Ukraine won its group and advances to the finals tomorrow, facing Lithuania, winner of its group, for the IFSA World's Strongest Nation title.

In today's events, Ukraine won the Pole Push, followed by USA and then Germany. USA won the wrestling event, followed by Ukraine and Germany. Ukraine won the Atlas Stones, followed by USA and then Great Britain.

After three days of competiton, Group 1 final rankings were:

1. Ukraine
2. USA
3. Great Britain
4. Germany

Group 2 finals rankings were:

1. Lithuania
2. Russia
3. Finland
4. Hungary

The USA and Russia will be competing for third place tomorrow, in the final day of this competition.

With a prize of US$12,000 awaiting the winner, the IFSA World's Strongest Nation contest pits four-man teams from eight countries against each other. The teams are divided into two group of four teams each, and here are the overall standings after the second day of competiton.

Group 1:

Ukraine
USA
Great Britain
Germany

Group 2

Lithuania
Finland
Hungary
Russia

Sunday is the third day of competition, and the top team from both groups at the end of the day will face each other on Monday, battling for first and second place, and the second place teams from both group will compete for third place.

Here are the standings after the first day of the IFSA World's Strongest Nation competition.

Representing the USA, Josh Thigpen, Jon Andersen, Van Hatfield and Travis Ortmayer share first place with host nation Ukraine, having five points each. Great Britain and Germany share third place, with 10 points each.

The contest continues tomorrow.

Glenn "Big Daddy" Ross is on the mend, and while he modestly said "deadlifting is coming on well . . . no weights to shout about yet, but getting there," Glenn also said that he is "looking forward to getting back to some real daddy squats and power movements."


Go back a decade, land in Mintlaw, Scotland at the 1995 World Musclepower Championships, and remember the walk-on by the name of Glenn Ross - even if he couldn't compete that day, Glenn got invited to be a tester, which included the opportunity to lock horns with Nathan Jones on the Pole Push. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Glenn Ross champions the idea that strongman is about lifting and moving heavy objects - it's the way he sees strongman of old - and he says strongman is about "fighting for every step, not running." This is the philosophy represented in the contests put on by the UK Strength Council, of which Glenn is a member. In these contests, instead of, for example, picking up a 180-kg Husafell stone from a stand and sprinting with it, a 200-kg stone would have to lifted from the ground, before struggling forward with it.

Talking about the UK Strength Council in the context of all the competing strongman federations, Glenn uses a supermarket analogy, in that when there is competition, it is good for everyone: competition in strongman creates an opportunity for the athletes, the fans and the sponsors to end up with a better product, and the reality is a free-market situation anyway.

"Big, strong men are like bears," Glenn said. "As long as you keep feeding them honey, they will stay in their caves and stick with certain organizations, but when the honey pot runs out, they must go into the forest to look for more honey."

Besides working to bring back strongman contests with events that he sees as reflecting this make-it-heavy philosophy, Glenn is fired up about training: "I've been training for 16 years . . . it's been an onslaught," so with the break forced by his injury, Glenn is refreshed and fully motivated to "get back to full strength. I hope to be ready for my target date in March," he said.

Just when you might be getting a little tired of shoveling snow and wearing four layers of clothes to stay warm, Southern California's FitExpo offers a change of pace, and if you're an up-and-coming strongman, February 17 � 19, 2006 could be your coming out party.


Dave Ostlund works some two-meter magic on an IronMind Apollon's Axle fitted with tires at the 2005 FitExpo. Ostlund went on to qualify for the 2005 World's Strongest Man contest, where he made the finals and placed ninth overall. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Ace strongman competitor and promoter Odd Haugen told IronMind that he is planning to hold another strongman contest at the 2006 FitExpo, with the intention of giving American competitors a chance to strut their stuff: Do well enough and you just might get invited to a World's Strongest Man Super Series contest . . . the gateway to the World's Strongest Man contest, so here it is - this contest gives you an opportunity to get off the porch and go run with the big dogs.

In addition to Dave Ostlund, Jesse Marunde also went on from the 2005 FitExpo strongman contest to qualify for and compete in this year's World's Strongest Man contest, where he finished second overall, so the precedent has been set and maybe you can do likewise next year.

For more information on the 2006 FitExpo, please check their official website http://www.thefitexpo.com/ and for details on how you can get into the strongman contest, please contact Odd Haugen: odd.haugen@gmail.com

Weightlifting fans and everyone who just plain likes strength is waiting to see if Iranian star Hossein Rezazadeh gives a big lesson in weightlifting math at the upcoming world championships.


Hossein Rezazadeh starts a 240-kg clean and jerk on its upward journey in the training hall at the 2005 Asian Weightlifting Championships (Dubai, UAE). Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Lifting next month in Qatar, two-time Olympic weightlifting champion Hossein Rezazadeh seems poised to break all three world records in the superheavyweight class - records that he knows very well, since all three are his.

Although Rezazadeh "only" snatched 200 kg and cleaned and jerked 260 kg at last month's Asian Weightlifting Championships, he appeared to be lifting well within his limits, and he told IronMind to watch for big lifts from him at the upcoming Worlds.

Rezazadeh had snatched 205 kg and cleaned and jerked 260 kg in training as he prepared for the recent Asian Weightlifitng Championships, and his clean and jerk was "very, very strong," according to a very knowledgeable source, so with his peak still several weeks away, Hossein Rezazadeh's current world records might be nearing the end of their reign.

Chad Coy said that once again, this year's Zup's Lift for Kids was a huge hit and a very successful fundraiser.

Coy reported, "Before the lifting even started over $25,000 dollars was raised for the Children's Bureau of Indianapolis and much more was collected during the event held on Monument Circle on Monday the 17th of October. This event kicked off Monday Football where the Colts, after a rocky start, blew out the St.Louis Rams 45-28.

The 7 lifters totalled a little over 4,200,000 pounds in 2 hours.

They pushed and pulled their way to the weight by squatting a FrontLoader, deadlifting a car and shrugging an Indy 500 race car. This day eclipsed last year's total by over 1 million pounds mostly due to having a few more able bodied men."

Hats off to those able-bodied men who made the fundraiser so successful: Tom Zupancic, Bryan Neese, Chad Coy, Adrian Panko, Rob Land, Nick Rush and Aaron Mullet.

IFSA's Dr. Douglas Edmunds has issued a statement following IronMind's report yesterday, and here it is, verbatim and in its entirety.

"I do not agree with the negative aspects of Randy Strossen's report. Without doubt IFSA is the mother federation of the entire strongman sport and is by far, the market leader. IFSA is also the only organisation that is supported by an extensive, multi-national fedration structure which also incorporates the development of a 105Kg class and a strongwoman division.

The splinter groups consist mainly of athletes who cannot find a place at the top table. Witness the awe inspiring standards achieved at the IFSA world championship in Quebec by the world's elite athletes. Whereas most of the athletes competing in the TWI championship in China have never reached any prominence even in their National tournaments. Some have referred to the TWI competition as a childrens picnic compared to the real deal in Quebec.

IFSA has the support of all the elite athletes and the leading technical experts who alone are capable of driving the sport to a new level and the athletes receive rewards commensurate with a genuine international sport.

I believe the leadership role IFSA should work towards is consolidating all splinter groups so that there is a clear pathway to becoming the genuine world champion for any aspiring athlete and the sport is not degraded by lack of expertise and standards."

Dr. Douglas Edmunds, founder of the original IFSA and a leading figure in the new IFSA, told IronMind's Randall Strossen that "there will be changes" as the new IFSA continues to seek firm footing in the strongman world.


Simpler days in the strongman world: Douglas Edmunds, IFSA founder, in Hawaii for the original Super Series, which he helped launch. Then, Edmunds was a key resource for identifying competitors, designing events and supplying equipment for the World's Strongest Man contest; this past year, IFSA and World's Strongest Man Super Series went their separate ways. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Dr. Edmunds was candid in acknowledging that IFSA is significantly in arrears with the payments to its athletes. "A substantial amount of money is going out next month," said Dr. Edmunds, but he also emphasized that he could not guarantee exactly how much would be paid to each athlete. Dr. Edmunds explained that the financial pressure in terms of the IFSA revenue shortfall was due to the need to take a three-year perspective on achieving profitability, rather than thinking it could be achieved in one year.

"There will be changes," Dr. Edmunds said. "There have to be changes."

For years, Douglas Edmunds and his original IFSA group played an important support role to the World's Strongest Man contest, the brainchild of TWI-IMG senior executive Barry Frank and the absolute leader in the field by a tremendous margin.

IFSA split off from the World's Strongest Man contest last year, and as part of its efforts to establish a leadership role in the strongman world, it signed up most of the world's top strongman competitors to exclusive contracts with the carrot of salaries plus cash-rich prize lists at its contests. As the inaugural year unfolded, IFSA had some significant successes, such as introducing its pyramidal qualifying system, an athlete ranking system, and a series of standardized events which used the stunning stainless steel equipment created by strongman event maestro Jamie Reeves. The IFSA contests have also been characterized by having very heavy events. On the other side, though, multiple IFSA contests were cancelled, attendance at the biggest IFSA contests has been much lower than projected, a number of athletes have voided their contracts, and IFSA payments to athletes are substantially behind schedule.

Looking forward, Dr. Edmunds said that despite the growing pains, when the expected monies are disbursed, the IFSA athletes, "should have more money than they've ever had before," and the basic contest structure established this year will go forward in 2006. Also, Dr. Edmunds said that the TV shows developed from the IFSA World Championships in Quebec last month are of "unbelievable quality," and discussions are in process at the moment to sell the broadcast rights.

"It's a three-year game," Dr. Edmunds said, "and you have to stick with it."

And as for reconsolidation in the strongman, Dr. Edmunds said, "I would like to see one sport," although he doesn't have a quick view of how that can be achieved. The current state, with multiple federations, "Just runs down the sport,' said Dr. Edmunds, "and makes it subject to ridicule. One federation should feed all promoters," Dr. Edmunds said.

Jon Andersen, Corey St. Clair, Travis Ortmayer - just three of the guys who have come out of NAS and gone on to make a splash in professional strongman.

And with the ever-increasing popularity of strongman, is it any surprise that NAS president Dione Wessels said there will 105 competitors at the upcoming NAS Nationals? The contest is set for November 5 in Louisville, Kentucky and Wessels said, "It will be held in conjunction with the Kentucky Muscle Fitness Festival." By winning this contest, you get a pro card, and last year's winner, Travis Ortmayer, has shown that he more than deserved the chance to go head to head with the world's top strongmen.

"We're hoping to have another Travis for the 2006 season," Wessels said.

For complete details on this and other NAS contests, please check the official NAS website:

http://www.nastrongman.com/

To better match the crowd at the Mr. Olympia Fitness Expo this weekend, GNC decided to run the Grip Gauntlet in light mode - making the challenge a bit more achievable.

After all, as someone said, this crowd thinks barbells are meant for curls, not for deadlifts.

In its normal "heavy" version, the GNC Grip Gauntlet uses 212 pounds in the IronMind Rolling Thunder, a No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper, and a Blob. In this light edition, the Rolling Thunder was reduced to 187 pounds, and a No. 2 Captains of Crush gripper was used, along with the infamous Blob.

Even in this lighter edition, only two men completed all three challenges, including strongman competitor Corey St. Clair.

The deal was also sweetened for this weekend's bodybuilding crowd as succeeding in two of the three grip challenges netted you a $100 GNC gift card.

Out of all the people who tried their hand at the GNC Grip Gauntlet over the Mr. Olympia weekend, 10 people completed two of the challenges, and only one of them succeeded with the Blob.

On the other hand, to let the crowd know who owned the gauntlet, Wade Gillingham wrapped up the two day challenge by lifting the Blob and holding aloft in his right hand before first lifting the Rolling Thunder and then crushing the gripper with his left hand, followed up with a walk around the stage.

We guess Wade figured this was as close as he could come to completing all three challenges simultaneously.

Benedikt Magnusson took another step toward his goal of deadlifting 455 kg when he pulled 426 kg in training on Friday.


Benedikt Magnusson pulled this 426-kg deadlift in his Friday workout. Photo courtesy of Hjalti Arnason.

The 426-kg deadlift was witnessed by such notables as Hjalti Arnason and Magnus Ver Magnusson, both of whom immediately vouched for the legitimacy of the lift and Benedikt's ability to pull even more. As amazing as it sounds, Arnason said the 426-kg deadlift was "quite easy," and he said that the lift was properly done, including the use of an IPF-spec bar.

Earlier this year, Benedikt Magnusson pulled 410 kg and then had a close miss with 425 kg at the Icelandic Powerlifting Championships.

If you feel your grip and forearm training is becoming kind of a drag, check out the latest John Brookfield Grip Tip to get a fresh perspective on an old exercise.

John Brookfield has come up with more new ways to train grip and forearms, than any other ten people we know and in this month's Grip Tip, John puts a new slant on the tried and trued wrist roller. To give it a try, follow the John Brookfield's Grip Tip logo from the IronMind homepage or click on this link:

/GripTips/griptip.html

We can feel those forearms burning already!

We don't call Steve "Inver Stone" Jeck our resident philosopher for nothing.

Think of how many times you have read the words motivation and inspiration in the context of your quest for greater strength, health and muscular development. Now, read Steve Jeck's latest From the Quarry and see if that doesn't put things in perfect focus by zeroing in on the key feature of each.

For the latest from Steve Jeck, just follow the From The Quarry link on the IronMind homepage or follow this link:

/Main/fromthequarry.html

Managing Director Johan Erling told IronMind that Eleiko has been selected as the official barbell for the 2006 Asian Games, in what must be regarded as a particularly dramatic achievement for the Swedish company as more and more Asian barbells enter the market.


Saeed Salem Jaber (Qatar) snatches 210 kg at the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships (Vancouver, British Columbia). The world's top superheavyweights are capable of snatching over 210 kg, and cleaning and jerking over 260 kg - weights that once lifted are then dropped from arms' length overhead, which makes world-class weightlifting a supreme testing ground for the world's best barbells. Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Eleiko barbells, widely regarded as the standard by which all other barbells are judged, were just used at the 2005 Asian Weightlifting Championships, and will be used at the upcoming 2005 World Weightlifting Championships - contests where it is expected that close to 600 pounds will be dropped, maybe repeatedly, from arms' length overhead, as the world's strongest superheavyweights defy gravity and put barbells to their ultimate test.

Brad Johnson continues to explore new territory in his Extreme Bodyweight Training column, and here's his latest: crush push-ups.

If you're a push-up fan or if you want to sample the kinds of exercises that are standard fare for Brad Johnson, give these a try - these are not your ordinary push-ups, so don't expect to only get ordinary results from them. Click on this link

/ExtremePages/extremepage.html

or follow the Brad Johnson's Extreme Bodyweight Training link from the IronMind home page.

It stands the most universally-recognized feat of world-class grip strength and Dave Lemanczyk has just done it - he has officially closed a No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper.

IronMind is proud to certify Dave for this accomplishment and in recognition of his achievement, Dave's name has been added to the official roster of men who have closed the No. 3 Captains of Crush gripper:

/Main/captainswhosnew.html

Way to go, Dave!

Usually the location of each year's World's Strongest Man contest is not officially announced until quite close to the actual event, and prior to the announcement, there is a great deal of speculation about the possible venue.

That has all changed for the 2006 WSM which will return to China, and is set to be held in Sanya, on Hainan Island, at what has been described as being a beautiful beach resort. The 2006 contest dates have not yet been released, but they will be announced here as soon as they become officially available.

Yesterday he locked up the title and today he put the frosting on the cake: in a blazing time, Mariusz Pudzianowski won the final event in the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest. Tarmo Mitt was second in the stones, Dave Ostlund was third, Elbrus Nigmatulin was fourth and Jesse Marunde was fifth. Marunde lost time when he had to reset the first stone, and Jarek Dymek tore a biceps in the event.

Here are the final, official places of the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest:

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski
2. Jesse Marunde
3. Dominic Filiou
4. Jarek Dymek
5. Janne Virtanen
6. Tarmo Mitt
7. Ralf Ber
8. Don Pope
9. Dave Ostlund
10. Elbrus Nigmatulin

Broadcast live, this final event was once again attended by very large, enthusiastic crowds of people who were chanting the competitors's names - strongman might not have been too well known in China before this, but that has all changed since WSM came to town.

The rave reviews Mariusz Pudzianowski receives from his fellow competitors aren't based on nothing, and today at the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, he won both events, not just convincingly, but with the net effect that nobody can catch him tomorrow: Mariusz Pudzianowski has won the 2005 WSM title.

Here are the standings through today:

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski
2. Jesse Marunde
3. Dominic Filiou
4. Jarek Dymek
5. Janne Virtanen
6. Ralf Ber
7. Don Pope
8. Tarmo Mitt
9. Dave Ostlund
10. Elbrus Nigmatulin

The 2005 MET-RX World's Strongest Man contest concludes tomorrow, with the Atlas Stones, and in a first, this final event will be broadcast live across China by CCTV5 (the rest of the world will be seeing the shows on the traditional schedule). Huge crowds and tremendous excitement characterized today's competition, even though it rained in the morning.

Well, you want to know: What is it?

Strength historian Paul Ohl, author of the recently-released biography of Louis Cyr, Une Epopee Legendaire, has put this event in context by describing the traditional Chinese Ding lift.

Ohl reports, "It dates back to the Warring States Period (375-221 B.C.). Since there was a very strong demand for military qualities, the soldiers were put to various tests such as forms of heavy lifting."

"The Ding is an ancient cooking vessel with two loop handles and three supporting legs. And the larger Ding was extremely heavy."

"Ding lifting according to Ancient China's historian Wu Zi refers to grasping the loop handles with both hands and turning the vessel upward while snatching. The winners of the Ding-lift were given the title of 'DINGLIFTING WARRIOR.'"

With that historical background, tomorrow's event is easier to envision and understand: Imagine a traditional three-legged cauldron weighing a mere 170 kg. Now all you have to do is wrap your arms around it and carry it as far as you can . . . The strongest man wins.

Brian Carlton and Bob Lipinski, who formed the U.S. Handstrength Federation, have issued what Brian Carlton describes as a, "call for promoters."

"If anyone is interested in organizing or promoting a grip contest in their local area we'd like to hear from them and help them organize it," Carlton explained. "These could be multi-event all-round grip contests or even single event contests held in conjunction with other sporting events. Ideally, these would be at least annually run contests, giving their locals at least one competitive grip opportunity per year."

Anyone interested in discussing this further is invited to email Brian Carlton (carlton@dtc.umn.edu) or Bob Lipinski (bloberto@gmail.com).

He looked great in the qualifying round and with his strong performances today, Jesse Marunde has taken the overall lead in the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest.


Dominic Filiou had top-three performances in both of today's events at the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest and has moved into third place overall. Photo courtesy of Andy Lazell.

It was another exciting day, with many dramatic changes in the top positions. Here are the results of today's events and the overall positions through four events.

FRIDGE CARRY

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski
2. Dominic Filiou
3. Jarek Dymek
4. Jesse Marunde
5. Ralf Ber

OVERHEAD LOG LIFT

1. Mariusz Pudzianowski
2. Jesse Marunde
3. Dominic Filiiou
4. Jarek Dymek, Ralf Ber (tie)

RESULTS AFTER FOUR EVENTS

1. Jesse Marunde
2. Mariusz Pudzianowski
3. Dominic Filiou
4. Jarek Dymek
5. Don Pope
6. Ralf Ber
7. Janne Virtanen
8. Dave Ostlund
9. Tarmo Mitt
10. Elbrus Nigmatulin

The action continues with the third day of the 2005 World's Strongest Man finals tomorrow.

If you're a sumo fan and will be in Las Vegas this weekend, you won't want to miss this.

Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort is the location, and the tournament/exhibition runs October 7 - 9. For full details, please check http://www.mandalaybay.com/ and also the official website of USA Sumo; http://www.usasumo.com/

It was a big day for the Americans as Jesse Marunde wasted no time winning the lead-off event at the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest today, and his compatriot Don Pope's consistency put him in first place overall at the end of the first day of competition.


Don Pope, on the Log Lift during the qualifiers at the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, is in first place overall after the first day of the finals. Photo courtesy of Andy Lazell.

Completing the strong American showing on the opening day of the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, Dave Ostlund is tied for third place overall.

Here are the results from Day One of the of the 2005 WSM finals:

FINGAL FINGERS

1. Jesse Marunde
2. Dominic Filiou
3. Jarek Dymek
4. Don Pope
5. Dave Ostlund

PILLARS OF HERCULES

1. Tarmo Mitt
2. Don Pope
3. Ralf Ber
4. Mariusz Pudzianowski
5. Dave Ostlund

OVERALL PLACES AFTER TWO EVENTS

1. Don Pope
2. Jesse Marunde
3. Dave Ostlund, Tarmo Mitt (tie)
5. Jarek Dymek, Dominic Filiou, Mariusz Pudzianowski (tie)
8. Ralf Ber
9. Janne Virtanen, Elbrus Nigmatulin (tie)

Tomorrow's events are the Overhead Log Lift for Reps and the Fridge Carry, and the excitement is already building for what is certain to be another day when anything could happen.

Stay tuned.

Strongman fans wait all year for this: The finals of the 2005 MET-RX World's Strongest Man contest begin tomorrow.


Mariusz Pudzianowski on the Pillars of Hercules in the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest. This dramatic event, along with Fingal Fingers, is on the schedule for tomorrow. Photo courtesy of Andy Lazell.

They came, they struggled and those who reigned supreme and made it to the finals of WSM 2005 will square off in two events tomorrow: Fingal Fingers and the Pillars of Hercules. On Wednesday, it's the Fridge Carry and the Overhead Log Lift for Reps. Thursday's events are the Ding Carry (new for this year) and the Squat for Reps, and on Friday, for the grand finale, it's the Atlas Stones.

Stay tuned.

Last year was Don Pope's first time at the MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest and even though he didn't make it to the finals, he impressed some of the veterans who watched his performance.

Based on how his training had been going beforehand and on how he was doing in the qualifiers, this year Pope said, "I expected to be in the finals." And now he is.

Although he didn't broadcast it, Don Pope was pretty beat up at last year's contest, but after giving himself some time to heal, he has come back stronger than ever.

Pope said that he had been hitting PRs in every workout, on something, for the last six or eight months, and with Mariusz Pudzianowski in his qualifying group, Pope said that he knew if he could hang in there with the Polish Wonder, he was doing really well. "He's from another planet," Pope said of Pudzianowski.

Pope went on to win two of the events in the qualifying round and he beat Pudzianowski in a third event as well, so he knew he was on track to a great performance.

Don't get the idea that Don Pope sees it as a cakewalk from this point forward, though. Reviewing the events in the finals of the 2005 MET-Rx World's Strongest Man contest, he said, "If you have a weakness, it will show through."